A measurement campaign has been conducted both in a pilot-scale pulverized fuel and in a pilot-scale circulating
fluidized bed test rig to evaluate the behavior of two different online corrosion sensors during the co-combustion of straw with
bituminous coal. The online corrosion sensors based on the linear polarization method were equipped with material rings of the
alloy10CrMo9-10 and air-cooled to a material temperature of 530 °C (PF) and 560 °C (CFB). They were implemented at a flue
gas temperature of approximately 750−800 °C in both test rigs to simulate superheater tubes. The derived signals were
compared with flue gas measurements (O2, CO2, SO2, and HCl) as well as selected fine particle measurements and deposit
sampling during co-firing tests of 0, 10, 25, 40, 60, and 100% straw with coal on an energy basis. Slight deviations between the
fuels tested in the different test rigs were observed. Main differences were measured in the coal ash composition and chlorine
content of the straw. Online corrosion sensors reacted quickly to changes in the blend composition. While no enhanced
corrosion was detected during the co-combustion of 10% and 25% straw, both sensors identified possible corrosive processes on
the metal surface during the 60% straw case. The detected signal change could be correlated to an increased share of chlorine in
the fine particles (in the PF and the CFB test rigs) and deposits (only in the CFB tests). Interestingly, a smaller signal change was
detected during the 40% straw case in the PF combustion, in contrast to a larger signal gradient during the 40% case in the CFB
tests. Two reasons could be identified for this behavior: On the one hand, the sensor used in the PF tests showed a lower
sensitivity due to a different design of the sensor head. On the other hand, a significant amount of chlorine was detected in the
aerosolic particles in the CFB tests in contrast to no chlorine in the PF experiments during this case. The known interaction
mechanisms of alkali mitigation during combustion of difficult fuels (sulfation and embedding in alumino-silicates), which lead to
a chlorine reduction in the fine particles, were investigated thoroughly. It was found that sulfation might be more pronounced
under conditions typical of CFB systems.
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